NYC Bike Guide

Bike New York City

With hundreds of miles of infrastructure and the nation's biggest bike share, the Big Apple is greener and more bike-friendly than ever

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(Photo by Emiliano Granado)

VIBE
Since mayor Michael Bloomberg launched his ambitious plan for a more sustainable city in 2007, bicycle commuting has doubled and the city has added 300-plus miles of bike lanes—not always without controversy (this is New York, after all). With the launch of Citi Bike in May, residents and visitors now enjoy on-demand access to 6,000 bicycles at more than 300 stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Whether you’re joining in an organized event, rolling over one of the East River bridges to get to work, or noodling around a neighborhood, riding in New York has never been easier, more convenient, or more fun.

(Emiliano Granado)

RIDE
A mainstay for Manhattan commuters and recreational riders, the Hudson River Green­way stretches along the water from Battery Park to the Little Red Lighthouse at the foot of the George Washington Bridge. On the other side of town, pedal across the Brooklyn Bridge and explore Brooklyn Heights and the ultra-hip precincts of DUMBO (see map). Early weekday mornings, kitted-out racers train on loops in Central Park and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. And on weekend mornings, roadies stream over the George Washington Bridge and up Route 9W into woodsy Rockland County, where bike racks overflow with high-end frames at two popular coffee stops: Bunbury’s in Piermont and Runcible Spoon in Nyack.

(Emiliano Granado)

PIT STOPS
Browse the gallery-like Tribeca emporium Adeline Adeline for classic upright city bicycles and elegant accessories. On the Lower East Side, the carefully curated, pocket-size Chari & Co. stocks frames and parts, plus sleek Japanese accessories and exclusive bags and apparel. Signature Cycles, an expansive fitting studio and custom-bicycle shop, resides on the second floor of an anonymous Upper West Side building. The City Bakery near Union Square uses cargo bikes for local deliveries and cyclists get 15 percent off at the register on purchases including the signature hot chocolate. The Cannibal near Gramercy Park pulls in a road-cycling crowd for televised races, a rotating selection of 450 beers, and a meat-lover's menu (try the Cannibal Dog, shown below). In Brooklyn, the backyard deck of The Juice Pedaler, an airy bike-shop/café combo, attracts everyone from roadies to local families on the hunt for healthy snacks.

(Emiliano Granado)

EVENTS
From rolling parties to nighttime races, the city hosts bike-related gatherings all year long. Transportation Alternatives puts on the NYC Century Bike Tour in September with routes from 15 to 100 miles. See the whole city in one day on Bike New York’s TD Five Boro Bike Tour, which attracts 32,000 riders each May for a 40-mile journey on traffic-free streets. Race fans flock to Brooklyn for the Red Hook Criterium, an edgy nighttime race series that’s held in March and June and contested on track bikes. On three consecutive Saturdays in August the Department of Transportation closes a 7-mile thoroughfare to traffic from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park for Summer Streets, a festival that celebrates healthy recreation. New to the scene: the Bike Cult hand-built bicycle show, in Williamsburg on August 30 and 31.

Brooklyn Ramble

Hop on a Citi Bike and explore some of Brooklyn's most vibrant neighborhoods, hitting these hot spots along the way